Modifying search result ranking based on implicit user feedback

ABSTRACT

The present disclosure includes systems and techniques relating to ranking search results of a search query. In general, the subject matter described in this specification can be embodied in a computer-implemented method that includes determining a measure of relevance for a document result within a context of a search query for which the document result is returned, the determining being based on a first number in relation to a second number, the first number corresponding to longer views of the document result, and the second number corresponding to at least shorter views of the document result; and outputting the measure of relevance to a ranking engine for ranking of search results, including the document result, for a new search corresponding to the search query. The subject matter described in this specification can also be embodied in various corresponding computer program products, apparatus and systems.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of, and claims priority to, pending U.S. application Ser. No. 14/992,959, filed Jan. 11, 2016, which in turn is a continuation of, and claims priority to, U.S. application Ser. No. 14/143,622, filed Dec. 30, 2013, and issued on Jan. 12, 2016, as U.S. Pat. No. 9,235,627, which in turn is a continuation of, and claims priority to, U.S. application Ser. No. 11/556,143, filed Nov. 2, 2006, and issued on Feb. 25, 2014, as U.S. Pat. No. 8,661,029. The entirety of each of the foregoing is incorporated by reference herein.

BACKGROUND

The present disclosure relates to ranking of search results.

Internet search engines aim to identify documents or other items that are relevant to a user's needs and to present the documents or items in a manner that is most useful to the user. Such activity often involves a fair amount of mind-reading—inferring from various clues what the user wants. Certain clues may be user specific. For example, knowledge that a user is making a request from a mobile device, and knowledge of the location of the device, can result in much better search results for such a user.

Clues about a user's needs may also be more general. For example, search results can have an elevated importance, or inferred relevance, if a number of other search results link to them. If the linking results are themselves highly relevant, then the linked-to results may have a particularly high relevance. Such an approach to determining relevance, generally associated with the GOOGLE® PageRank technology, is premised on the assumption that, if authors of web pages felt that another web site was relevant enough to be linked to, then web searchers would also find the site to be particularly relevant. In short, the web authors “vote up” the relevance of the sites.

Other various inputs may be used instead of, or in addition to, such techniques for determining and ranking search results. For example, user reactions to particular search results or search result lists may be gauged, so that results on which users often click will receive a higher ranking. The general assumption under such an approach is that searching users are often the best judges of relevance, so that if they select a particular search result, it is likely to be relevant, or at least more relevant than the presented alternatives.

SUMMARY

Systems, methods, and apparatus including computer program products for ranking search results of a search query are described. In general, particular inputs may be generated or analyzed to affect the presentation of search results. For example, such inputs may increase the relevance that a system will assign to a particular result in a particular situation, thus boosting the score or other indicator of relevance for the result (and perhaps the relevance of the result in the context of a particular query). Such an approach may benefit a user by providing them with search results that are more likely to match their needs. As a result, users can learn more using the internet, can find more relevant information more quickly, and will thus achieve more in their work or elsewhere, and will be more likely to use such a system again. A provider of such services may also benefit, by providing more useful services to users, and by thereby inducing more traffic to their search services. Such additional traffic may provide an operator with additional revenue, such as in the form of advertising that accompanies the searching and the delivery of search results.

One aspect of the subject matter described in this specification can be embodied in a computer-implemented method that includes determining a measure of relevance for a document result within a context of a search query for which the document result is returned, the determining being based on a first number in relation to a second number, the first number corresponding to longer views of the document result, and the second number corresponding to at least shorter views of the document result; and outputting the measure of relevance to a ranking engine for ranking of search results, including the document result, for a new search corresponding to the search query. The first number can include a number of the longer views of the document result, the second number can include a total number of views of the document result, and the determining can include dividing the number of longer views by the total number of views.

The method can further include tracking individual selections of the document result within the context of the search query for which the document result is returned; weighting document views resulting from the selections based on viewing length information to produce weighted views of the document result; and combining the weighted views of the document result to determine the first number. The second number can include a total number of views of the document result, the determining can include dividing the first number by the second number, and the measure of relevance can be independent of relevance for other document results returned in response to the search query.

The weighting can include applying a continuous function to the document views resulting from the selections. The weighting can include applying a discontinuous function to the document views resulting from the selections. Applying the discontinuous function can include classifying the individual selections of the document result into viewing time categories; and assigning weights to the individual selections based on results of the classifying.

The weighting can include weighting the document views based on the viewing length information in conjunction with a viewing length differentiator. The viewing length differentiator can include a factor governed by a determined category of the search query, and the weighting can include weighting the document views based on the determined category of the search query. The viewing length differentiator can include a factor governed by a determined type of a user generating the individual selections, and the weighting can include weighting the document views based on the determined type of the user.

The subject matter described in this specification can also be embodied in various corresponding computer program products, apparatus and systems. For example, a system can include a tracking component and a rank modifier engine structured to perform the operations described. Moreover, a system can include various means for performing the operations described, as detailed below, and equivalents thereof.

Particular embodiments of the described subject matter can be implemented to realize one or more of the following advantages. A ranking sub-system can include a rank modifier engine that uses implicit user feedback to cause re-ranking of search results in order to improve the final ranking presented to a user of an information retrieval system. User selections of search results (click data) can be tracked and transformed into a click fraction that can be used to re-rank future search results. Data can be collected on a per-query basis, and for a given query, user preferences for document results can be determined. Moreover, a measure of relevance (e.g., an LC|C click fraction) can be determined from implicit user feedback, where the measure of relevance can be independent of relevance for other document results returned in response to the search query, and the measure of relevance can reduce the effects of presentation bias (in the search results shown to a user), which might otherwise bleed into the implicit feedback.

The details of one or more implementations are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features, aspects, and advantages will become apparent from the description, the drawings, and the claims.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows an example information retrieval system in which the relevance of results obtained for submitted search queries can be improved.

FIG. 2 shows example components of an information retrieval system.

FIG. 3 shows another example information retrieval system.

FIG. 4A shows an example process of generating a measure of relevance for a document for use in improving a search results' ranking.

FIGS. 4B and 4C show example weighting functions.

FIG. 4D shows an example process of discontinuous weighting.

FIG. 4E shows an example process of weighting based on one or more viewing length differentiators.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of an example computer system.

Like reference numbers and designations in the various drawings indicate like elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 shows an example system 1000 for improving the relevance of results obtained from submitting search queries as can be implemented in an internet, intranet, or other client/server environment. The system 1000 is an example of an information retrieval system in which the systems, components and techniques described below can be implemented. Although several components are illustrated, there may be fewer or more components in the system 1000. Moreover, the components can be distributed on one or more computing devices connected by one or more networks or other suitable communication mediums.

A user 1002 (1002 a, 1002 b, 1002 c) can interact with the system 1000 through a client device 1004 (1004 a, 1004 b, 1004 c) or other device. For example, the client device 1004 can be a computer terminal within a local area network (LAN) or wide area network (WAN). The client device 1004 can include a random access memory (RAM) 1006 (or other memory and/or a storage device) and a processor 1008. The processor 1008 is structured to process instructions within the system 1000. In some implementations, the processor 1008 is a single-threaded processor. In other implementations, the processor 1008 is a multi-threaded processor. The processor 1008 can include multiple processing cores and is structured to process instructions stored in the RAM 1006 (or other memory and/or a storage device included with the client device 1004) to display graphical information for a user interface.

A user 1002 a can connect to the search engine 1030 within a server system 1014 to submit a query 1015. When the user 1002 a submits the query 1015 through an input device attached to a client device 1004 a, a client-side query signal 1010 a is sent into a network 1012 and is forwarded to the server system 1014 as a server-side query signal 1010 b. Server system 1014 can be one or more server devices in one or more locations. A server device 1014 includes a memory device 1016, which can include the search engine 1030 loaded therein. A processor 1018 is structured to process instructions within the device 1014. These instructions can implement one or more components of the search engine 1030. The processor 1018 can be a single-threaded processor or a multi-threaded processor, and can include multiple processing cores. The processor 1018 can process instructions stored in the memory 1016 related to the search engine 1030 and can send information to the client device 1004, through the network 1012, to create a graphical presentation in a user interface of the client device 1004 (e.g., a search results web page displayed in a web browser).

The server-side query signal 1010 b is received by the search engine 1030. The search engine 1030 uses the information within the user query 1015 (e.g. query terms) to find relevant documents. The search engine 1030 can include an indexing engine 1020 that actively searches a corpus (e.g., web pages on the Internet) to index the documents found in that corpus, and the index information for the documents in the corpus can be stored in an index database 1022. This index database 1022 can be accessed to identify documents related to the user query 1015. Note that, an electronic document (which for brevity will simply be referred to as a document) does not necessarily correspond to a file. A document can be stored in a portion of a file that holds other documents, in a single file dedicated to the document in question, or in multiple coordinated files.

The search engine 1030 can include a ranking engine 1052 to rank the documents related to the user query 1015. The ranking of the documents can be performed using traditional techniques for determining an information retrieval (IR) score for indexed documents in view of a given query. The relevance of a particular document with respect to a particular search term or to other provided information may be determined by any appropriate technique. For example, the general level of back-links to a document that contains matches for a search term may be used to infer a document's relevance. In particular, if a document is linked to (e.g., is the target of a hyperlink) by many other relevant documents (e.g., documents that also contain matches for the search terms), it can be inferred that the target document is particularly relevant. This inference can be made because the authors of the pointing documents presumably point, for the most part, to other documents that are relevant to their audience.

If the pointing documents are in turn the targets of links from other relevant documents, they can be considered more relevant, and the first document can be considered particularly relevant because it is the target of relevant (or even highly relevant) documents. Such a technique may be the determinant of a document's relevance or one of multiple determinants. The technique is exemplified in the GOOGLE® PageRank system, which treats a link from one web page to another as an indication of quality for the latter page, so that the page with the most such quality indicators wins. Appropriate techniques can also be taken to identify and eliminate attempts to cast false votes so as to artificially drive up the relevance of a page.

To further improve such traditional document ranking techniques, the ranking engine 1052 can receive an additional signal from a rank modifier engine 1056 to assist in determining an appropriate ranking for the documents. The rank modifier engine 1056 provides one or more measures of relevance for the documents, which can be used by the ranking engine 1052 to improve the search results' ranking provided to the user 1002. The rank modifier engine 1056 can perform one or more of the operations described further below to generate the one or more measures of relevance.

The search engine 1030 can forward the final, ranked result list within a server-side search results signal 1028 a through the network 1012. Exiting the network 1012, a client-side search results signal 1028 b can be received by the client device 1004 a where the results can be stored within the RAM 1006 and/or used by the processor 1008 to display the results on an output device for the user 1002 a.

FIG. 2 shows example components of an information retrieval system. These components can include an indexing engine 2010, a scoring engine 2020, a ranking engine 2030, and a rank modifier engine 2070. The indexing engine 2010 can function as described above for the indexing engine 1020. In addition, the scoring engine 2020 can generate scores for document results based on many different features, including content-based features that link a query to document results, and query-independent features that generally indicate the quality of documents results. The content-based features can include aspects of document format, such as query matches to title or anchor text in an HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language) page. The query-independent features can include aspects of document cross-referencing, such as the PageRank of the document or the domain. Moreover, the particular functions used by the scoring engine 2020 can be tuned, to adjust the various feature contributions to the final IR score, using automatic or semi-automatic processes.

The ranking engine 2030 can produce a ranking of document results 2040 for display to a user based on IR scores received from the scoring engine 2020 and one or more signals from the rank modifier engine 2070. A tracking component 2050 can be used to record information regarding individual user selections of the results presented in the ranking 2040. For example, the tracking component 2050 can be embedded JavaScript code included in a web page ranking 2040 that identifies user selections (clicks) of individual document results and also identifies when the user returns to the results page, thus indicating the amount of time the user spent viewing the selected document result. In other implementations, the tracking component 2050 can be proxy system through which user selections of the document results are routed, or the tracking component can include pre-installed software at the client (e.g., a toolbar plug-in to the client's operating system). Other implementations are also possible, such as by using a feature of a web browser that allows a tag/directive to be included in a page, which requests the browser to connect back to the server with message(s) regarding link(s) clicked by the user.

The recorded information can be stored in result selection logs 2060. The recorded information can include log entries that indicate, for each user selection, the query (Q), the document (D), the time (T) on the document, the language (L) employed by the user, and the country (C) where the user is likely located (e.g., based on the server used to access the IR system). Other information can also be recorded regarding user interactions with a presented ranking, including negative information, such as the fact that a document result was presented to a user, but was not clicked, position(s) of click(s) in the user interface, IR scores of clicked results, IR scores of all results shown before click, the titles and snippets shown to the user before the click, the user's cookie, cookie age, IP (Internet Protocol) address, user agent of the browser, etc. Moreover, similar information (e.g., IR scores, position, etc.) can be recorded for an entire session, or multiple sessions of a user, including potentially recording such information for every click that occurs both before and after a current click.

The information stored in the result selection logs 2060 can be used by the rank modifier engine 2070 in generating the one or more signals to the ranking engine 2030. In general, a wide range of information can be collected and used to modify or tune the click signal from the user to make the signal, and the future search results provided, a better fit for the user's needs. Thus, user interactions with the rankings presented to the users of the information retrieval system can be used to improve future rankings.

The components shown in FIG. 2 can be combined in various manners and implemented in various system configurations. For example, the scoring engine 2020 and the ranking engine 2030 can be merged into a single ranking engine, such as the ranking engine 1052 of FIG. 1. The rank modifier engine 2070 and the ranking engine 2030 can also be merged, and in general, a ranking engine includes any software component that generates a ranking of document results after a query. Moreover, a ranking engine can be included in a client system in addition to (or rather than) in a server system.

FIG. 3 shows another example information retrieval system. In this system, a server system 3050 includes an indexing engine 3060 and a scoring/ranking engine 3070. A client system 3000 includes a user interface for presenting a ranking 3010, a tracking component 3020, result selection logs 3030 and a ranking/rank modifier engine 3040. For example, the client system 3000 can include a company's enterprise network and personal computers, in which a browser plug-in incorporates the ranking/rank modifier engine 3040. When an employee in the company initiates a search on the server system 3050, the scoring/ranking engine 3070 can return the search results along with either an initial ranking or the actual IR scores for the results. The browser plug-in can then re-rank the results locally based on tracked page selections for the company-specific user base.

FIG. 4A shows an example process of generating a measure of relevance for a document for use in improving a search results' ranking. Individual selections of a document result can be tracked 4010 within the context of a search query for which the document result is returned. For example, in the context of a web based information retrieval system, user's click data on web page search results can be gathered and stored in logs, which can be kept for all user queries. When a user clicks on a search result, the click can be tracked via JavaScript code embedded in the search results page, an embedded browser tag, etc. This code can track when and on what a user clicks in the main search results page, and can track when the user returns to that main page.

Post-click behavior can also be tracked via pre-installed software at the client (e.g., a toolbar plug-in to the client's operating system). Provided the user opts into fully sharing their browsing behavior, the toolbar software can track all the pages that the user visits, both before and after the search results page is delivered.

The information gathered for each click can include: (1) the query (Q) the user entered, (2) the document result (D) the user clicked on, (3) the time (T) on the document, (4) the interface language (L) (which can be given by the user), (5) the country (C) of the user (which can be identified by the host that they use, such as www-google-co-uk to indicate the United Kingdom), and (6) additional aspects of the user and session. The time (T) can be measured as the time between the initial click through to the document result until the time the user comes back to the main page and clicks on another document result. In general, an assessment is made about the time (T) regarding whether this time indicates a longer view of the document result or a shorter view of the document result, since longer views are generally indicative of quality for the clicked through result. This assessment about the time (T) can further be made in conjunction with various weighting techniques.

Document views resulting from the selections can be weighted 4020 based on viewing length information to produce weighted views of the document result. Thus, rather than simply distinguishing long clicks from short clicks, a wider range of click through viewing times can be included in the assessment of result quality, where longer viewing times in the range are given more weight than shorter viewing times. This weighting can be either continuous or discontinuous.

FIGS. 4B and 4C show example weighting functions, plotted against time 4110 and weight 4120. A continuous function 4130 can be applied to the document views resulting from the selections. Thus, the weight given to a particular click through time can fall within a continuous range of values, as defined by the function 4130. Alternatively, a discontinuous function 4140 can be applied to the document views resulting from the selections. As shown in the example of FIG. 4C, there are three viewing time categories, each having a corresponding weight. Note that the function 4140 can be an explicitly defined function, or merely implicit in the software implementation.

FIG. 4D shows an example process of discontinuous weighting. The individual selections of the document result can be classified 4210 into viewing time categories, and weights can be assigned 4220 to the individual selections based on results of the classifying. For example, a short click can be considered indicative of a poor page and thus given a low weight (e.g., −0.1 per click), a medium click can be considered indicative of a potentially good page and thus given a slightly higher weight (e.g., 0.5 per click), a long click can be considered indicative of a good page and thus given a much higher weight (e.g., 1.0 per click), and a last click (where the user doesn't return to the main page) can be considered as likely indicative of a good page and thus given a fairly high weight (e.g., 0.9). Note that the click weighting can also be adjusted based on previous click information. For example, if another click preceded the last click, the last click can be considered as less indicative of a good page and given only a moderate weight (e.g., 0.3 per click).

The various time frames used to classify short, medium and long clicks, and the weights to apply, can be determined for a given search engine by comparing historical data from user selection logs with human generated explicit feedback on the quality of search results for various given queries, and the weighting process can be tuned accordingly. Furthermore, these time frames and weights can be adjusted based on one or more viewing length differentiators, as is described further below in connection with FIG. 4E.

The weighted views of the document result can be combined 4030 to determine a first number to be used in determining a measure of relevance. For example, the weighted clicks described above can be summed together for a given query-document pair. Note that safeguards against spammers (users who generate fraudulent clicks in an attempt to boost certain search results) can be taken to help ensure that the user selection data is meaningful, even when very little data is available for a given (rare) query. These safeguards can include employing a user model that describes how a user should behave over time, and if a user doesn't conform to this model, their click data can be disregarded. The safeguards can be designed to accomplish two main objectives: (1) ensure democracy in the votes (e.g., one single vote per cookie and/or IP for a given query-URL pair), and (2) entirely remove the information coming from cookies or IP addresses that do not look natural in their browsing behavior (e.g., abnormal distribution of click positions, click durations, clicks_per_minute/hour/day, etc.). Suspicious clicks can be removed, and the click signals for queries that appear to be spammed need not be used (e.g., queries for which the clicks feature a distribution of user agents, cookie ages, etc. that do not look normal).

A measure of relevance for the document result can be determined 4040 within the context of the search query for which the document result is returned. The determining can be based on a first number in relation to a second number, where the first number corresponds to longer views of the document result, and the second number corresponds to at least shorter views of the document result. The first number can be a number of the longer views of the document result, or the weighted selections, as described above, where the weights are skewed to longer views of the document result.

The second number includes at least the shorter views, such that a relation of long clicks to short clicks can be determined. This measure can help in reducing the effects of presentation bias, since an amount of time that users spend viewing a given document result is, in a sense, compared with itself. Presentation bias includes various aspects of presentation, such as an attractive title or snippet provided with the document result, and where the document result appears in the presented ranking (position). Note that users tend to click results with good snippets, or that are higher in the ranking, regardless of the real relevance of the document to the query as compared with the other results. By assessing the quality of a given document result for a given query, irrespective of the other document results for the given query, this measure of relevance can be relatively immune to presentation bias.

In addition to the shorter views, the second number can also include the longer views, and need not employ any weighting. For example, the second number can be the total number of views of the document result (an ordinal count of clicks on that result). The first number and second number can be combined to form a single feature for use in determining the measure of relevance for the document result within the context of the search query, and this measure of relevance can be independent of relevance for other document results returned in response to the search query.

Furthermore, this measure of relevance can be calculated as a fraction, which can be directly applied to IR scores of the search results, thereby boosting the documents in the resulting ranking that have implicit user feedback indicating document quality. This fraction is referred to as the LC|C click fraction since the fraction can be generally understood as the number of Long Clicks (which may be weighted clicks) divided by the number of Clicks overall for a given document result. A detailed description of an LC|C calculation follows, but it will be understood that variations on the following equations are also possible. A base LC|C click fraction can be defined as LCC_BASE=[#WC(Q,D)]/[#C(Q,D)+S0] where #WC(Q,D) is the sum of weighted clicks for a query-URL (Universal Resource Locator) pair, #C(Q,D) is the total number of clicks (ordinal count, not weighted) for the query-URL pair, and S0 is a smoothing factor.

The smoothing factor S0 can be chosen such that, if the number of samples for the query is low, then the click fraction will tend toward zero. If #C is much larger than S0, then the smoothing factor will not be a dominant factor. Thus, the smoothing factor can be added as a guard against noise in the click fraction.

The LCC_BASE click fraction considers only clicks for a given query-URL pair. At a high level, LC|C can be interpreted as a normalized measure of how long people stayed on a page given that they clicked through to that page, independent of other results for the query. Thus, the LC|C click fraction can be high for a given URL even if it gets far fewer clicks than a comparable result in a higher position.

In addition, the LC|C click fraction can be used on top of a traditional click fraction used previously. This traditional click fraction took into consideration the other results for the given query, and has been defined as follows: T_BASE=[#WC(Q,D)]/[#WC(Q)+S0] where #WC(Q,D) is the sum of weighted clicks for a query-URL pair, #WC(Q) is the sum of weighted clicks for the query (summed over all results for the query), and S0 is a smoothing factor.

LC|C can also employ per-language and per-country fractions (with smoothing there between) similar to those employed with the traditional click fraction: T_LANG=[#WC(Q,D,L)+S1·T_BASE]/[#WC(Q,L)+S1] T_COUNTRY=[#WC(Q,D,L,C)+S2·T_LANG]/[#WC(Q,L,C)+S2] where T_LANG incorporates language specific click data, plus T_BASE, and T_COUNTRY incorporates country (and language) specific click data, plus T_LANG. Thus, the LC|C click fractions can be calculated using: LCC_BASE=[#WC(Q,D)]/[#C(Q,D)+S0] LCC_LANG=[#WC(Q,D,L)+S1·LCC_BASE]/[#C(Q,D,L)+S1] LCC_COUNTRY=[#WC(Q,D,L,C)+S2·LCC_LANG]/[#C(Q,D,L,C)+S2] In this manner, if there is less data for the more specific click fractions, the overall fraction falls back to the next higher level for which more data is available.

Alternatively, the LC|C click fraction can split the smoothing among click fractions apart from the smoothing used to determine the threshold at which the click fraction is considered to begin to provide useful information. Thus, the LC|C click fractions can be defined using a first set of smoothing parameters: LCC_BASE=[#WC(Q,D)]/[#C(Q,D)+S0] LCC_LANG=[#WC(Q,D,L)]/[#C(Q,D,L)+S10] LCC_COUNTRY=[#WC(Q,D,L,C)]/[#C(Q,D,L,C)+S20] and the final LC|C click fraction can combine these separate click fractions using a second set of smoothing parameters: LCC_FINAL=X1·LCC_COUNTRY+X2·LCC_LANG+X3·LCC_BASE where

X1=[#WC(Q,L,C)]/[#WC(Q,L,C)+S21]

X2=(1−X1)·[#WC(Q,L)]/[#WC(Q,L)+S11]

X3=1−X1−X2

or

X1=[#C(Q,L,C)]/[#C(Q,L,C)+S21]

X2=(1−X1)·[#C(Q,L)]/[#C(Q,L)+S11]

X3=1−X1−X2

The first set of smoothing parameters can help in making the various LC|C click fractions comparable across documents. This can reduce the chances of a first document returned for a query having an LC|C click fraction that comes mainly from country/language specific data, while a second document returned for the same query has an LC|C click fraction that comes mainly from the base data.

Furthermore, it should be noted that different smoothing factors S0, S00, S1, S10, S11, S2, S20 and S21 can be used, or one or more of these can be the same smoothing factor. The smoothing factors used can be determined based on how much traffic is received within the context of the click fraction. For example, for a given country-language tuple, the smoothing factor can be raised concordant with the amount of traffic received (e.g., a larger smoothing factor can be used for US-English queries if a good deal more of such queries are received). In addition, the smoothing factor can be increased for query sources that have historically generated more spamming activity (e.g., queries from Russia).

The measure of relevance can be output 4050 to a ranking engine for ranking of search results, including the document result, for a new search corresponding to the search query. This measure of relevance (e.g., the LC|C click fraction described above) can be directly applied to IR scores for the documents, or this measure can be passed through a transform to create a boosting factor that can be applied to the IR scores. For example, the LC|C click fraction can be transformed into a boosting factor for the IR score according to the following equation: IRBoost=1+M/(1+e^(X*(LC|C−0.5))) where M and X can be constants, such as:

(M, X)=(100, −100)

(M, X)=(50, −10)

(M, X)=(10, −5).

Employing a boosting function can help the LC|C click fractions to discriminate among, and correlate well with, the relevance of various documents.

Other transforms are also possible. For example, a linear form boosting function can be defined as: IRBoost=1+min(K,M*(max(0,LC|C−X))) where K, M and X can be constants, such as:

(K, M, X)=(infinity, 100, 0.5)

(K, M, X)=(49, 100, 0)

(K, M, X)=(9, 20, 0.1)

(K, M, X)=(infinity, 9, 0).

Alternatively, an exponential form can be used as follows: IRBoost=1+M·(max(X,LC|C−Y)^((N)) where M, X, Y and N can be constants, such as:

(M, X, Y, N)=(90, 0.1, 0, 2.6)

(M, X, Y, N)=(15, 0, 0.2, 2)

(M, X, Y, N)=(5, 0, 0, 1.6)

(M, X, Y, N)=(0.5, 0, −0.2, 1.2)

(M, X, Y, N)=(90, 0, −0.2, 0.5).

Still further transforms are also possible. Such transforms can cause lower LC|C click fractions to generate almost no boost (e.g., a boost of about 1), whereas higher LC|C click fractions can generate a significant boost.

In any event, the transform employed can be adjusted based on the specific measure of relevance, and historical data combined with human generated relevance ratings (e.g., employed in a tuning process to select an appropriate boosting transform for a given implementation). Moreover, the measure of relevance can be used to modify and improve the ranking of search results generated for a given query, and the modified ranking can be presented to a user (e.g., on a display device in a web browser user interface).

As mentioned above, the weighting used can also be adjusted based on one or more viewing length differentiators. FIG. 4E shows an example process of such weighting. One or more viewing length differentiators (e.g., query category and user type) can be identified 4310 for use in the weighting. A viewing length differentiator can include a factor governed by a determined category of the search query, a factor governed by a determined type of a user generating the individual selections, or a combination of them. The document views can be weighted 4320 based on the viewing length information in conjunction with the viewing length differentiator(s), such as the determined category of the search query and the determined type of the user.

Thus, in the discontinuous weighting case (and the continuous weighting case), the threshold(s) (or formula) for what constitutes a good click can be evaluated on query and user specific bases. For example, the query categories can include “navigational” and “informational”, where a navigational query is one for which a specific target page or site is likely desired (e.g., a query such as “BMW”), and an informational query is one for which many possible pages are equally useful (e.g., a query such as “George Washington's Birthday”). Note that such categories may also be broken down into sub-categories as well, such as informational-quick and informational-slow: a person may only need a small amount of time on a page to gather the information they seek when the query is “George Washington's Birthday”, but that same user may need a good deal more time to assess a result when the query is “Hilbert transform tutorial”.

The query categories can be identified by analyzing the IR scores or the historical implicit feedback provided by the click fractions. For example, significant skew in either of these (meaning only one or a few documents are highly favored over others) can indicate a query is navigational. In contrast, more dispersed click patterns for a query can indicate the query is informational. In general, a certain category of query can be identified (e.g., navigational), a set of such queries can be located and pulled from the historical click data, and a regression analysis can be performed to identify one or more features that are indicative of that query type (e.g., mean staytime for navigational queries versus other query categories; the term “staytime” refers to time spent viewing a document result, also known as document dwell time).

Traditional clustering techniques can also be used to identify the query categories. This can involve using generalized clustering algorithms to analyze historic queries based on features such as the broad nature of the query (e.g., informational or navigational), length of the query, and mean document staytime for the query. These types of features can be measured for historical queries, and the threshold(s) can be adjusted accordingly. For example, K means clustering can be performed on the average duration times for the observed queries, and the threshold(s) can be adjusted based on the resulting clusters.

User types can also be determined by analyzing click patterns. For example, computer savvy users often click faster than less experienced users, and thus users can be assigned different weighting functions based on their click behavior. These different weighting functions can even be fully user specific (a user group with one member). For example, the average click duration and/or click frequency for each individual user can be determined, and the threshold(s) for each individual user can be adjusted accordingly. Users can also be clustered into groups (e.g., using a K means clustering algorithm) based on various click behavior patterns.

Moreover, the weighting can be adjusted based on the determined type of the user both in terms of how click duration is translated into good clicks versus not-so-good clicks, and in terms of how much weight to give to the good clicks from a particular user group versus another user group. Some user's implicit feedback may be more valuable than other users due to the details of a user's review process. For example, a user that almost always clicks on the highest ranked result can have his good clicks assigned lower weights than a user who more often clicks results lower in the ranking first (since the second user is likely more discriminating in his assessment of what constitutes a good result). In addition, a user can be classified based on his or her query stream. Users that issue many queries on (or related to) a given topic T (e.g., queries related to law) can be presumed to have a high degree of expertise with respect to the given topic T, and their click data can be weighted accordingly for other queries by them on (or related to) the given topic T.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of an example computer system 6050. The system 6050 can be used for practicing operations described above. The system 6050 can include a processor 6018, a memory 6016, a storage device 6052, and input/output devices 6054. Each of the components 6018, 6016, 6052, and 6054 are interconnected using a system bus 6056. The processor 6018 is capable of processing instructions within the system 6050. These instructions can implement one or more aspects of the systems, components and techniques described above. In some implementations, the processor 6018 is a single-threaded processor. In other implementations, the processor 6018 is a multi-threaded processor. The processor 6018 can include multiple processing cores and is capable of processing instructions stored in the memory 6016 or on the storage device 6052 to display graphical information for a user interface on the input/output device 6054.

The memory 6016 is a computer readable medium such as volatile or non volatile that stores information within the system 6050. The memory 6016 can store processes related to the functionality of the search engine 1030, for example. The storage device 6052 is capable of providing persistent storage for the system 6050. The storage device 6052 can include a floppy disk device, a hard disk device, an optical disk device, or a tape device, or other suitable persistent storage mediums. The storage device 6052 can store the various databases described above. The input/output device 6054 provides input/output operations for the system 6050. The input/output device 6054 can include a keyboard, a pointing device, and a display unit for displaying graphical user interfaces.

The computer system shown in FIG. 5 is but one example. In general, embodiments of the subject matter and the functional operations described in this specification can be implemented in digital electronic circuitry, or in computer software, firmware, or hardware, including the structures disclosed in this specification and their structural equivalents, or in combinations of one or more of them. Embodiments of the subject matter described in this specification can be implemented as one or more computer program products, i.e., one or more modules of computer program instructions encoded on a computer readable medium for execution by, or to control the operation of, data processing apparatus. The computer readable medium can be a machine-readable storage device, a machine-readable storage substrate, a memory device, a composition of matter effecting a machine-readable propagated signal, or a combination of one or more of them. The term “data processing apparatus” encompasses all apparatus, devices, and machines for processing data, including by way of example a programmable processor, a computer, or multiple processors or computers. The apparatus can include, in addition to hardware, code that creates an execution environment for the computer program in question, e.g., code that constitutes processor firmware, a protocol stack, a database management system, an operating system, or a combination of one or more of them. A propagated signal is an artificially generated signal, e.g., a machine-generated electrical, optical, or electromagnetic signal, that is generated to encode information for transmission to suitable receiver apparatus.

A computer program (also known as a program, software, software application, script, or code) can be written in any form of programming language, including compiled or interpreted languages, and it can be deployed in any form, including as a stand alone program or as a module, component, subroutine, or other unit suitable for use in a computing environment. A computer program does not necessarily correspond to a file in a file system. A program can be stored in a portion of a file that holds other programs or data (e.g., one or more scripts stored in a markup language document), in a single file dedicated to the program in question, or in multiple coordinated files (e.g., files that store one or more modules, sub programs, or portions of code). A computer program can be deployed to be executed on one computer or on multiple computers that are located at one site or distributed across multiple sites and interconnected by a communication network.

The processes and logic flows described in this specification can be performed by one or more programmable processors executing one or more computer programs to perform functions by operating on input data and generating output. The processes and logic flows can also be performed by, and apparatus can also be implemented as, special purpose logic circuitry, e.g., an FPGA (field programmable gate array) or an ASIC (application specific integrated circuit).

Processors suitable for the execution of a computer program include, by way of example, both general and special purpose microprocessors, and any one or more processors of any kind of digital computer. Generally, a processor will receive instructions and data from a read only memory or a random access memory or both. The essential elements of a computer are a processor for performing instructions and one or more memory devices for storing instructions and data. Generally, a computer will also include, or be operatively coupled to receive data from or transfer data to, or both, one or more mass storage devices for storing data, e.g., magnetic, magneto optical disks, or optical disks. However, a computer need not have such devices. Moreover, a computer can be embedded in another device, e.g., a mobile telephone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a mobile audio player, a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver, to name just a few. Computer readable media suitable for storing computer program instructions and data include all forms of non volatile memory, media and memory devices, including by way of example semiconductor memory devices, e.g., EPROM, EEPROM, and flash memory devices; magnetic disks, e.g., internal hard disks or removable disks; magneto optical disks; and CD ROM and DVD-ROM disks. The processor and the memory can be supplemented by, or incorporated in, special purpose logic circuitry.

To provide for interaction with a user, embodiments of the subject matter described in this specification can be implemented on a computer having a display device, e.g., a CRT (cathode ray tube) or LCD (liquid crystal display) monitor, for displaying information to the user and a keyboard and a pointing device, e.g., a mouse or a trackball, by which the user can provide input to the computer. Other kinds of devices can be used to provide for interaction with a user as well; for example, feedback provided to the user can be any form of sensory feedback, e.g., visual feedback, auditory feedback, or tactile feedback; and input from the user can be received in any form, including acoustic, speech, or tactile input.

Embodiments of the invention can be implemented in a computing system that includes a back-end component, e.g., as a data server, or that includes a middleware component, e.g., an application server, or that includes a front-end component, e.g., a client computer having a graphical user interface or a Web browser through which a user can interact with an implementation of the invention, or any combination of one or more such back-end, middleware, or front-end components. The components of the system can be interconnected by any form or medium of digital data communication, e.g., a communication network. Examples of communication networks include a local area network (“LAN”) and a wide area network (“WAN”), e.g., the Internet.

The computing system can include clients and servers. A client and server are generally remote from each other and typically interact through a communication network. The relationship of client and server arises by virtue of computer programs running on the respective computers and having a client-server relationship to each other.

While this specification contains many specifics, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of the invention or of what may be claimed, but rather as descriptions of features specific to particular embodiments of the invention. Certain features that are described in this specification in the context of separate embodiments can also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features that are described in the context of a single embodiment can also be implemented in multiple embodiments separately or in any suitable subcombination. Moreover, although features may be described above as acting in certain combinations and even initially claimed as such, one or more features from a claimed combination can in some cases be excised from the combination, and the claimed combination may be directed to a subcombination or variation of a subcombination.

Similarly, while operations are depicted in the drawings in a particular order, this should not be understood as requiring that such operations be performed in the particular order shown or in sequential order, or that all illustrated operations be performed, to achieve desirable results. In certain circumstances, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Moreover, the separation of various system components in the embodiments described above should not be understood as requiring such separation in all embodiments, and it should be understood that the described program components and systems can generally be integrated together in a single software product or packaged into multiple software products.

Thus, particular embodiments of the invention have been described. Other embodiments are within the scope of the following claims. For example, the actions recited in the claims can be performed in a different order and still achieve desirable results. Moreover, the server environment, which is configured to provide electronic search service and employ the ranking systems and techniques described, need not be implemented using traditional back-end or middleware components. The server environment can be implemented using a program installed on a personal computing apparatus and used for electronic search of local files, or the server environment can be implemented using a search appliance (such as GOGGLE® in a Box, provided by Google Inc. of Mountain View, Calif.) installed in an enterprise network. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A system comprising: one or more computers and one or more storage devices on which are stored instructions that are operable, when executed by the one or more computers, to cause the one or more computers to perform operations comprising: maintaining, in a result selection log, data regarding users' interactions with search results from an Internet search engine for multiple users, each log entry in the result selection log for an actual interaction being specific to one interaction and including data identifying a respective user, a query submitted by the user, one or more search results presented by the search engine in response to the query, a document selected by the user from among the search results, an ordinal position in a presentation order of the search results of the search result selected by the user, a time the user spent on the document, a language employed by the user, and a country where the user is likely located, wherein the log entries include entries identifying multiple users, multiple documents, multiple languages, and multiple countries; determining from the log entries in the result selection log (i) weighted-click fractions for each of multiple query-document pairs, (ii) weighted-click fractions for each of multiple query-document-language pairs, and (iii) weighted-click fractions for each of multiple query-document-language-country pairs, wherein each weighted-click fraction is based on a sum of a weighted number of documents selected by the user, and each weight is based on how much time the user spent on the document; and modifying an information retrieval score in the Internet search engine for a specific document by applying one of the weighted-click fractions or a transform of the one of the weighted-click fractions to the information retrieval score for the specific document.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the time the user spent on the document is measured as how much time passed between an initial click through to the document result until the user comes back to the search results presented by the search engine and selects another document result.
 3. The system of claim 1, wherein the log data also includes for each of multiple presentations of search results by the search engine: whether a document result was presented to the respective user but was not selected, respective positions of one or more selections in a search results presentation user interface, information retrieval scores of selected documents, information retrieval scores of all documents shown before a selected document, and titles and snippets shown to a user before the user selected a document.
 4. The system of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise: assigning lower weights to click fractions based on users who almost always select the highest ranked result lower weights than click fractions based on users who more often select results lower in the ranking first in the weighted-click fractions.
 5. The system of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise: classifying individual selections of document results into two or more viewing time categories, and assigning weights to the individual selections based on the classifying, the viewing time categories including a category for a short click and a category for a long click.
 6. The system of claim 5, wherein the viewing time categories further comprise a category for a medium click and a category for a last click.
 7. The system of claim 6, wherein the operations further comprise: determining respective time frames to classify selections as short, medium and long clicks, based on a viewing length differentiator, the viewing length differentiator including a factor governed by a determined category of the search query, a factor governed by a determined type of a user generating the individual selections, or a combination of them.
 8. A method comprising: maintaining, in a result selection log, data regarding users' interactions with search results from an Internet search engine for multiple users, each log entry in the result selection log for an actual interaction being specific to one interaction and including data identifying a respective user, a query submitted by the user, one or more search results presented by the search engine in response to the query, a document selected by the user from among the search results, an ordinal position in a presentation order of the search results of the search result selected by the user, a time the user spent on the document, a language employed by the user, and a country where the user is likely located, wherein the log entries include entries identifying multiple users, multiple documents, multiple languages, and multiple countries; determining from the log entries in the result selection log (i) weighted-click fractions for each of multiple query-document pairs, (ii) weighted-click fractions for each of multiple query-document-language pairs, and (iii) weighted-click fractions for each of multiple query-document-language-country pairs, wherein each weighted-click fraction is based on a sum of a weighted number of documents selected by the user, and each weight is based on how much time the user spent on the document; and modifying an information retrieval score in the Internet search engine for a specific document by applying one of the weighted-click fractions or a transform of the one of the weighted-click fractions to the information retrieval score for the specific document.
 9. The method of claim 8, wherein the log data also includes for each of multiple presentations of search results by the search engine: whether a document result was presented to the respective user but was not selected, respective positions of one or more selections in a search results presentation user interface, information retrieval scores of selected documents, information retrieval scores of all documents shown before a selected document, and titles and snippets shown to a user before the user selected a document.
 10. The method of claim 8, further comprising: assigning lower weights to click fractions based on users who almost always select the highest ranked result lower weights than click fractions based on users who more often select results lower in the ranking first in the weighted-click fractions.
 11. The method of claim 8, further comprising: classifying individual selections of document results into two or more viewing time categories, and assigning weights to the individual selections based on the classifying, the viewing time categories including a category for a short click, a category for a long click, and a category for a medium click.
 12. The method of claim 11, further comprising: determining respective time frames to classify selections as short, medium and long clicks, based on a viewing length differentiator, the viewing length differentiator including a factor governed by a determined category of the search query, a factor governed by a determined type of a user generating the individual selections, or a combination of them.
 13. One or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media encoded with instructions that, when executed by one or more computers, cause the one or more computers to perform operations comprising: maintaining, in a result selection log, data regarding users' interactions with search results from an Internet search engine for multiple users, each log entry in the result selection log for an actual interaction being specific to one interaction and including data identifying a respective user, a query submitted by the user, one or more search results presented by the search engine in response to the query, a document selected by the user from among the search results, an ordinal position in a presentation order of the search results of the search result selected by the user, a time the user spent on the document, a language employed by the user, and a country where the user is likely located, wherein the log entries include entries identifying multiple users, multiple documents, multiple languages, and multiple countries; determining from the log entries in the result selection log (i) weighted-click fractions for each of multiple query-document pairs, (ii) weighted-click fractions for each of multiple query-document-language pairs, and (iii) weighted-click fractions for each of multiple query-document-language-country pairs, wherein each weighted-click fraction is based on a sum of a weighted number of documents selected by the user, and each weight is based on how much time the user spent on the document; and modifying an information retrieval score in the Internet search engine for a specific document by applying one of the weighted-click fractions or a transform of the one of the weighted-click fractions to the information retrieval score for the specific document.
 14. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media of claim 13, wherein the time the user spent on the document is measured as how much time passed between an initial click through to the document result until the user comes back to the search results presented by the search engine and selects another document result.
 15. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media of claim 13, wherein the log data also includes for each of multiple presentations of search results by the search engine: whether a document result was presented to the respective user but was not selected, respective positions of one or more selections in a search results presentation user interface, information retrieval scores of selected documents, information retrieval scores of all documents shown before a selected document, and titles and snippets shown to a user before the user selected a document.
 16. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media of claim 13, wherein the operations further comprise: assigning lower weights to click fractions based on users who almost always select the highest ranked result lower weights than click fractions based on users who more often select results lower in the ranking first in the weighted-click fractions.
 17. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media of claim 13, wherein the operations further comprise: classifying individual selections of document results into two or more viewing time categories, and assigning weights to the individual selections based on the classifying, the viewing time categories including a category for a short click and a category for a long click.
 18. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media of claim 17, wherein the viewing time categories further comprise a category for a medium click and a category for a last click.
 19. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media of claim 18, wherein the operations further comprise: determining respective time frames to classify selections as short, medium and long clicks, based on a viewing length differentiator, the viewing length differentiator including a factor governed by a determined category of the search query, a factor governed by a determined type of a user generating the individual selections, or a combination of them. 